You're not my brother
by Loverly Light
Summary: Cartoon Universe. What if, in the first episode, Mega Man's stunt didn't fool Proto Man, and Wily reprogrammed Rock to become his own warrior and Proto Man's partner Rock Man?


Disclaimer and note: I don't own the rights to the Cartoon Series, but I do own both seasons (yay!). Apologies for the stupid title, I couldn't think of anything better. However, I do like the story-- while pretty much all Cartoon Series fics are about Proto and Mega's relationship, there's a good reason for that. And this has enough different about it I hope you'll be able to enjoy it.

You're not my brother

Rock snuggled under the covers of his new bed. He had existed in this world only a few hours, yet Dr. Light had already insisted it was time to rest? Rock didn't really understand, but he supposed a lot _had _happened over the past few hours. He woke up and found out about his father and sister, not to mention how to live. It _was _a lot to learn in such a short amount of time, he admitted, especially since it took humans a couple of years.

Besides, his bed was very comfortable.

Rock let his eyelids shut and waited for his systems to go into stasis. The next second they shot open at the sound of a low buzzing noise.

Rock sat up in bed quickly. He had never heard that sound before… but he had a feeling it wasn't good news.

Swinging his legs over the side of the mattress, he dropped as quietly as he could onto the carpeted floor. Moving noiselessly into the hall, he saw Dr. Light and Roll exit from their rooms as well; so at least the noise wasn't just a figment of Rock's imagination.

"I think it came from the lab!" Dr. Light exclaimed once the three had gathered, though still whispering. The two robots nodded, and the trio ran swiftly towards Dr. Light's laboratory.

As they approached, Rock could hear an accented voice saying: "Magnificent. Oh, they will do nicely as the first in my army."

"Dr. Wily! What are you doing back here?!" Dr. Light exclaimed, turning on the lab's lights as soon as they had all rushed into the room. Although careful not to let it show, Rock was bewildered by the whole situation. There was an older man in the room, along with a red-armored robot who seemed somewhat similar to him and his sister. The door to the alcove containing Dr. Light's newest robots had been ripped off, and tossed carelessly to the side. But, who was this 'Dr. Wily'? It seemed that he knew Dr. Light, or at least Dr. Light knew him, but how? He hadn't mentioned a 'Dr. Wily' to Rock…

"Just settling an old score," The old man sneered.

"They're going to take our robots, Dr. Light!" Roll exclaimed in dismay. Rock's eyes narrowed.

"Not if I can help it!" He cried, rushing forwards and taking a leap at the red robot. This seemed to amuse him, as he smirked slightly and simply took one step to the side. This caused Rock to miss completely and crash into the unawakened robots, knocking them over. The three's eyes opened groggily, and they stood up slowly, Rock still kneeling on the floor facing them.

Dr. Light decided to use this premature awakening to help save them. "Stop them, my robots!" He called as he took a step forwards.

"No, Dr. Light!" Wily cried, shoving Dr. Light out of the way and pulling out some sort of device. "They will obey ME!" He pressed a button, and a purple light streamed out of the front at the robots.

Rock was fortunately facing the other way, but he could only watch as the indigo beam entered the optics of all three new robots. They stood up straighter, their eyes narrowing menacingly.

"We will obey you, Dr. Wily." The one labeled Guts Man stated slowly.

"He's reprogrammed them!" Roll cried, then dashed towards the red robot from behind. Leaping up quickly, she wrapped an arm around his neck from behind and started hitting him on the head with her free hand.

"I'll stop you myself!" She stated bravely.

This seemed to surprise the other robot, who had been standing motionlessly off to the side during this whole episode, but he raised his arm to grab the one of Roll's that was around his neck. Roll screamed in surprise as he then proceeded to throw her into Rock, who was just about to stand up again. Unable to react quickly enough, she soon pinned him to the ground.

Before Roll could get off her brother, Guts Man had reach down and grabbed one of their arms in each hand. They were soon lifted off the ground, high enough so their feet no longer touched the floor.

"Take them back to my lab." Dr. Wily ordered his new servant.

"You let Rock and Roll go!" Dr. Light demanded, struggling against Ice Man who was currently holding him back by his arm.

"Oh, I think not." Wily said, walking up next to the red robot in order to face Dr. Light. "They will make a perfect addition to my collection of robots. And I wouldn't try anything, Dr. Light." Dr. Wily warned, shaking a reprimanding finger at him. "If you do, Ice Man will freeze you. Show the doctor, Ice Man."

Said robot let go of Dr. Light's arm, and thrust his hands forward. A cold blast of wind shot out, freezing a pile of science equipment on the table.

"And if you try to follow us… well, let Cut Man show you what he'll do."

Cut Man removed the scissors from his head and threw them at the frozen objects, slicing them into pieces.

Smirking triumphantly, Dr. Wily turned to leave the lab, following his robot and Guts Man. While Rock and Roll struggled the best they could, their captor was too strong and they were unable to free themselves. Ice Man and Cut Man followed them shortly after, and Dr. Light rushed through the new hole in the wall to see an aircraft raise itself from the ground.

"No! Not Rock and Roll!"

His protest did not slow the flight of the craft at all, however, and the scientist was left to stare sadly as his children were stolen from him.

Dr. Light turned away from staring at the sky. "Why would Dr. Wily want Rock and Roll?" He turned back to gaze sadly at the sky once more.

"And what are they going to do with them?"

* * *

Rock and Roll gave up struggling, instead opting to glare at their captors. This did not seem to impress them, however, as the new robots just stared blankly ahead while Dr. Wily and the red robot smirked.

"Who are you guys anyway!?" Roll demanded finally, after several minutes of silence. Wily ignored them, but the red robot glanced back at the two.

"Hey, doc, could you steer for a while? It couldn't hurt to clue them in on what's happening." he asked with a touch of uncertainty. Wily looked slightly annoyed, and stared at his creation for a second, before shrugging and grabbing the steering controls. The red robot grinned, then left the cockpit to go back into the area Rock and Roll were currently in.

This area was painted all red, with one bench lining each wall except the back one, which held the door to outside. The three new robots stood guarding this. Rock and Roll were seated on the left bench, unrestrained, for not only were they outnumbered but they were several hundred feet above the ground, so it would be almost certain death to jump off. And, of course, they would be unable to hijack the craft. The red robot entered this room, a cocky smirk plastered on his face, and sat down on the bench opposite the siblings, completely relaxed.

The two glared at him, and Rock even growled softly, but the red robot just gave a quiet chuckle. It was now Rock was able to get a good look on this robot who seemed to be the same type as he and Roll. That couldn't be, though, right?

This robot, as well as his red armor, wore a red and white helmet with a visor attached that completely covered his eyes. He also had a yellow scarf around his neck.

"Who are you, anyway…" Rock mumbled. At this, the other sat up and extended a hand.

"The name's Proto Man. Nice to meet you."

Rock couldn't tell if this 'Proto Man' was mocking him or not, so he simply glared at the outstretched hand. Proto Man sighed and withdrew his hand.

"Fine, have it your way, Rock."

Rock looked slightly shaken.

"H-how do you know my name?"

Proto Man rolled his eyes; however, this lost all effect it might have had, since absolutely no one was able to see them, but it helped him anyway.

"That old man kept shouting "Rock and Roll!" "Rock and Roll!" back at the lab. I somehow doubt he was talking about the music genre, and Rock seems slightly manlier then Roll, don't you agree?"

Rock looked rather peeved at this. Roll took this opportunity to bring up a more important topic.

"Why did you kidnap us, anyway?"

"You really don't know?" Proto Man asked, seemingly surprised. Both Rock and Roll shook their heads 'no'.

"What, Dr. Light didn't mention us to you? Aww, I'm hurt." Proto Man gave another chuckle, then his face (or what could be seen of it) hardened. "He probably didn't think of me at all… though, I would have thought he'd have told you about Wily."

"He probably just didn't want to give us nightmares." Rock stated simply. At this Proto Man looked sharply at him, and he got the distinct impression that, if he could see his eyes, they would be glaring daggers at him.

"You're just lucky Wily didn't hear you," Proto Man said in a menacing low voice. "He'd probably blow up in your face."

Roll was about to make a comment how that'd be great, seeing as he'd then be dead, but decided not to anger Proto Man further.

"Fine. Who is Wily, then? And why would Dad tell us about him?"

Proto Man was silent for a little, then decided to brush away the previous comment and answer the question.

"Dr. Wily was Dr. Light's assistant for a long time. The important part is, three months ago, the two of them finished creating the first sentient robot— me. Apparently, there was something wrong with my guidance system, and Dr. Light wanted to scrap me. Dr. Wily stole me and fixed the problem. Now Wily wants to stop Dr. Light for having wronged him."

Rock couldn't quite believe what he just heard. If it wasn't a lie, then… did that mean Dr. Light was actually the bad guy? It couldn't be true, of course. Rock really didn't have any way of knowing whether this guy would lie to him or not. But… if it was a lie, why did the two seem to have a grudge against Dr. Light? Rock decided it wasn't a complete lie, but Proto Man didn't tell him the whole story. He might have told him all Wily had told him had happened, but from what little he knew about the two men, Dr Light didn't seem like an evil man. And Dr. Wily didn't seem quite like a 'Righteous Avenger', either.

"…Oh." Rock said, quietly.

Proto Man smirked.

"Shocked to hear your 'Dad' isn't quite as great as you thought, huh?" He glanced out the front window. "Looks like we're almost there." He stood up and walked back towards the cockpit.

"Wait, Proto Man!" After hearing his name, Proto Man stopped and looked over his shoulder at the two.

"Why were you being so nice to us?" Rock asked.

Proto Man smirked once more. "Oh, you'll find that out soon."

The ship shook slightly as it landed, jostling Rock and Roll. Guts Man then walked forwards and grasped their arms once more.

"Let's go then, shall we?" Wily said, smirking towards the siblings.

* * *

"Well, how do you like my fortress, Rock?" Wily asked the robot. Rock chose not to answer that, seeing as both he and his sister were strapped down to lab tables. He didn't know exactly how it happened; one second they had been trying to escape, the next they were locked down to a pair of lab tables. The restraints on their legs, arms and waists were stronger than Guts Man's grip had been, so all struggling was futile. There was a light shining down on them from the celing, while Wily and Proto Man stood slightly to one side. Not much else was in the room, besides a few boxes and another lab table in the corner.

"Now, I will be able to take all the robots that Dr. Light builds, and program them to turn _against_ mankind!" Dr. Wily started laughing evilly as Rock glared at him.

"But that's not right!" Rock protested, raising his head the few inches he was able to off the table.

"Oh, my." Wily said, feigning surprise and chagrin. "He's right, Proto Man." He said, turning to face his creation. "I'm a… _bad _scientist!" He then started laughing even harder then before, before leaving for the other lab table with tools and parts on it.

"Hey, you should be happy, Rock." Proto Man said, walking up to the captive boy and smiling, kindly for once, down at him. "You and I are _brothers!_ We were built from the same plans. Let Dr. Wily reprogram you, and join us in our quest to control mankind!" He said, enthusiastically.

"No way! You can count me out!" Rock objected. Truthfully, though, he was somewhat shaken. He and Proto Man were _brothers_!? Really, he didn't hate Proto Man, and from what he knew about him they probably could have even been friends if it weren't for him working for Wily, but _brothers_!? That couldn't be!

…Could it?

"A little tuck here, a little slice there, and you'll feel differently about this." Wily stated as he approached Rock menacingly, some sort of tool in his hand that looked like some sort of warped screwdriver. Rock winced as Wily neared him, and stared in horror as Wily turned the tool on mere inches from the robot's face. Wily lowered the tool slowly towards Rock, and to prevent him from moving his head, Wily's other hand held it still. Rock tried to escape, but it was useless; and that made the outcome seem even more inevitable. He winced, closing his eyes to block out that horrible object…

Roll watched this, feeling powerless. If she was unable to keep Wily away with her actions, maybe she could do something with her words…

"Uh… hold it, Dr. Deadhead!!" She yelled in a frantic attempt to get his attention.

Apparently it worked, as said doctor turned off the tool and raised his head to glare menacingly at the girl.

"It's Dr. _WILY_!"

"Not in my universe, buster!" Roll said, deciding to take it one step further.

Rock had his eyes closed this whole time, but they opened when he felt the weight of Dr. Wily's hand leave his head. He looked at the doctor, eyes showing concern, as the evil man decided to reprogram Roll first instead.

"You'll be a _pleasure_ to rewire." Wily stated darkly, as he stood between the siblings, held Roll's head still, and turned on the tool once more.

"Wait! Stop!" Rock called. He couldn't bear it if his sister got brainwashed right in front of his eyes! He had to do something!

"And _why_ should I stop?" Wily asked, turning around to face to boy with an eyebrow raised.

Thinking fast, Rock quickly began to weave a story.

"Only if you want to live. My dad also built super fighting robots! They'll probably be here any minute to save us, and I bet they'll be _real mad _if you reprogram us." He turned to face Proto Man, and added helpfully, "They're _mean machines_!"

Wily looked somewhat shocked at this, but Proto Man retained a neutral expression, so Rock couldn't tell if the other robot had bought his story or not. What Rock _really _hoped was that it wasn't written all over his face that he was lying through his teeth.

"Robots can't lie," Wily said, apparently misinformed, "So he must be telling the truth. But… why didn't I know about the other robots!?" Wily started pacing.

Rock gave an inward sigh of relief. Wily had fallen for his story even better then he could have hoped.

"Is there a way to stop them?" Wily asked Rock.

Rock decided he might as well take a gamble, since it seemed like the best chance they had to escape.

"Let us go, and I'll show you."

For one very tense moment for Rock, Wily was silent. Then…

"Unstrap him, Proto Man." Proto Man walked slowly over to his brother, and pressed a button on the small keypad at the side. Proto Man wasn't sure if his brother was telling the truth or not, but he was too suspicious of an escape attempt to be completely off his guard. He inconspicuously formed his buster on his left arm and kept it at his side.

"Thanks, doc." Rock said cheerfully, jumping forward off the table after the straps binding him unlatched. He completely ignored his brother still standing there with a grim expression.

"Now, tell me how to stop those robots."

"Simple." Rock said, walking towards some sort of contraption on wheels he saw in the hallway. Proto Man moved closer to Wily, in order to keep an eye on him _and _on his little brother.

"First you grab hold of one of these, like this," Rock demonstrated, grabbing onto a handle bar. "And then you swing it at them… like this!" Rock cried, spinning it towards the two.

Then it all blew up in his face, both literally and figuratively.

Much quicker then the bulky object, Proto Man raised his buster and fired. The object exploded when it was still practically in Rock's hands. The boy was flung back headfirst into the far wall.

"Rock!" Roll cried out to her fallen brother. She struggled once more, in hopes to help Rock, but this worked no better than it had any other time.

"You tricked me!" Wily screamed, livid.

"U…ugh…" Rock moaned, holding his head. He tried to stand up, but stumbled. He had been completely taken by surprise… and his head had gotten damaged in that crash. He was having a hard time seeing straight. Using the wall as a support, he was finally able to pull himself beck to his feet. They had to escape, they just had to. Rock would _not _let himself be the cause of their deaths.

With a cry, he rushed at his brother, like he had when they were first captured. And like then, Proto Man stepped to the side. However, now he also shot at Rock's arm. The boy cried in pain and collapsed once more, clutching his wounded right arm.

"Rock… Rock!" Roll cried out desperately.

"You will learn never to fool me again." Wily said, darkly. "Proto Man, strap him down once more."

The red robot walked slowly towards his brother. However, just as he was about to drag him to his feet, Rock jumped up, pouring all his strength into this.

Even if he'd get caught, he could at least save Roll.

Even though his vision was blurry, as he ran over Rock managed to depress the corresponding button to the one he noticed Proto Man had pressed to release him. However, just as he got there, Proto Man shot him in the left leg, causing him to collapse once more.

"Run, Roll."

"But, Rock…" Her brother swiftly raised his head towards her, urgency on his face. She nodded and jumped up towards the direction of the hanger they landed in before.

"Proto Man! Don't let her get away!" Wily ordered, and Proto Man hurried to comply.

In desperation, Rock used his still good leg to launch himself at his brother, tackling him by the knees. The two crashed to the floor, Proto Man trying desperately to tug away from his little brother's death grip on his legs.

"Please, Proto Man." Rock begged. This caused Proto Man to go still for a moment, and Rock continued.

"If you're really my brother, you wouldn't do this… you wouldn't let Wily reprogram me! Because then… then I wouldn't be me, would I? It'd be someone else living in my body, but I wouldn't be me anymore! Please… brother…" Rock pleaded, hoping to get through to his brother. Proto Man was silent for a while, then spoke.

"Come on, Dr. Wily. Let's just get this over with." Rock's eyes shot up towards Proto Man, widened in disbelief, but Proto Man just shook him off and yanked him up by his less damaged arm.

"No… please…" Rock whispered as his brother dragged him up and threw him on the lab table.

It was the last thing he said before he went unconscious.

* * *

"Doc, why didn't you just use your fancy robo-brainwashing gadget on him?" Proto Man asked Dr. Wily as the man worked on his little brother. He felt a little guilty about earlier, but… well, he wanted Rock to be on his side. Once Wily told him he had a younger brother… he hid it well, but he had been very happy. He felt lonely, working for Wily, and thought a brother would be able to help him bear it. He also wanted to be able to choose to do something for himself, so he decided to protect his little brother. That desire only increased once he met him. Rock seemed like the perfect little brother to Proto Man… and now, he'd be able to fulfil his wish. Even though he had to hurt Rock to achieve it.

"Two reasons, Proto Man." Wily said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. "First, Rock and Roll have no real functions that could be used as weapons. They're just a lab assistant and a maid. It would be much more efficient to upgrade their bodies at the same time as their minds.

And two… well, their circuitry is too advanced to be taking over by that ray." Wily finished, somewhat sheepishly.

"Heh." Proto Man smirked, but said nothing else. His focus turned towards the unconscious form on the lab table. Wily had been working on him for half-an-hour already, and seemed to be going incredibly fast. Well, he actually didn't do too many changes to the internal circuitry, which surprised Proto Man. The scientist seemed to be focused on added weapon capabilities to the robot, and hooking those up to Rock's "brain". Rock now wore an outfit not unlike Proto Man himself, with navy as his main color instead of red, and the same gray jumpsuit. His helmet looked different, Proto Man noted, missing the visor and white markings. The helmet looked completely mundane, the older robot decided.

"Don't you have something you could be doing, Proto Man?" Wily asked suddenly, breaking into Proto Man's thoughts. He started slightly, and turned his gaze from his brother's form to look at his creator. The latter was silent, and Proto Man realized he was expecting Proto Man to do something. The red robot also got the feeling Wily wanted to be alone.

"Er, sure." He said without thinking, and turned towards the door. Wily got back to working on Rock, but Proto Man stopped walking after a few steps and turned back towards Wily.

"Doc…" Proto Man started, as Wily turned to face him, looking slightly annoyed. Proto Man's voice had trailed off, however, and he shook his head.

"Uh… it's nothing. Never mind." Proto Man hurried out of the room. After walking rapidly for a short distance, he chose a random side room and entered. He plopped down on the floor and leaned backwards so the top of his head was almost along the side of the wall as well as his back. He felt pretty foolish for attempting to bring up the subject to Wily, and he felt pretty foolish for even thinking about it, but… well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

After sitting there for a minute or two, Proto Man decided he should get started on some sort of busywork to preoccupy him until he could check on his brother again. Unclenching his left fist, Proto Man stood up and walked out of the room, letting the contents in his hands drop to the floor.

On the floor near the spot where he had previously been lay a spare scarf.

* * *

Dr. Light was wearily trying to think of some way he could find and rescue his robotic children when he heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like the aircraft Wily had used earlier. Dr. Light whirled around, alarmed. He hadn't been able to fix the hole in the side of the wall yet, and was practically defenseless at the moment. But what did Wily want with him… and why didn't he do it earlier, when he kidnapped Rock and Roll?

However, the man's anxieties were quickly alleviated as he saw the single, familiar form of Roll exit the ship.

Dr. Light's spirits rose incredibly. He had never hoped one of his children would be able to escape… not that he doubted them, but he was terribly afraid about what Wily might have done to them.

Before any words could be said, Dr. Light had enveloped his "daughter" in a hug, one that she readily reciprocated.

"I was so worried about you and Rock, Roll…" Light said, then his voice vanished as he noticed the sorrowful and dismayed look on Roll's face.

It was barely a second after that he realized his other creation was missing.

"Where… where's Rock?" Dr Light asked, unable to speak above a whisper, like all the strength in his voice had been stolen away.

"He…" Roll choked on the words slightly, then continued, looking like she could cry at any moment. "He's still there, Dr. Light! He saved me, then told me to run… I have to go back to save him!" She cried out, unable to believe she was able to leave her brother there.

Dr. Light shook his head. "No, Roll. There's isn't much you could do."

"But I have to do _something_…!"

"There isn't anything we can do at this point, Roll." Dr. Light's head raised, and a grim determination shone in his eyes, and they were no longer threatening to spill the tears that had started to well a few moments before. "We'll just have to trust he makes it out of there…"

* * *

Proto Man stood by his brother's head, slightly worried, not that it showed on his face. Wily said he was done with the reprogramming and upgrading, and Rock would wake up at any time.

In a few seconds, Rock opened his eyes, very slowly. He had a slightly dazed expression, and seemed somewhat out of it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Proto Man asked, concerned. He continued, not waiting for a response. "Sorry about that, bro, Dr. Wily isn't exactly the most conscientious when it comes to comfort…"

"Don't call me that."

Proto Man stopped rambling, a little startled at his brother's comment. The robot's head had turned to him, and no longer looked blank; now his eyes were narrowed, and he was all but glaring at the red robot.

"Huh…?" Proto Man was confused.

"You're not my brother." Rock continued, his voice low and full of restrained emotion. "If you were my brother, you wouldn't have betrayed me. So don't call me your brother, because I'm not."

Proto Man stared at Rock, but his face showed no emotion. After a few seconds, the older one looked over his shoulder at Dr. Wily, who was standing by a computer several meters away.

"I thought you said you reprogrammed him, doc."

"Don't worry, Proto. It will just take a few hours for his personality to readjust itself to the new programming. It was the same with you, although I suppose you don't remember." Wily responded distractedly, almost flippantly even. But then he turned, an evil smile displayed on his face.

"Everything's going fine. He'll do whatever he's told. However, I should probably test that to make sure… Rock Man."

Rock turned to the mad scientist, staring blankly at him.

"What did you call me?"

"Rock Man." Wily grinned evilly. "You are no longer a simple lab assistant, Rock Man. You need a new name to match. Don't you think it fits nicely?"

"I just think you're unimaginative." Rock Man mumbled, still lying prone on the lab table.

"No matter," Wily waved a hand distractedly. "I need to check if my reprogramming succeeded. So then, Rock Man, my newest robot…"

Rock bit his lip in worry. He wasn't sure what Wily would ask him to do, but his body felt weird. Nothing was really responding (he had been trying to stand up ever since he had regained consciousness, only to give up after finding it was too much for him to raise himself more than a few inches) and there was a foreign presence pressing at the back of his mind. He knew he wouldn't want to do whatever evil deed Wily planned for him to perform, but he had no clue what Wily had done to him…

"…Grab that wrench over there and give it to me."

Rock Man would have facefaulted if he had been able to. A wrench? That was all? Well, no matter what, he wouldn't do what Wily commanded, no matter how mundane. Besides, he couldn't even move his limbs, so how…

Rock watching in shock as he felt himself pull himself to his feet and head over to the far lab table, walking far too fluidly. Half-way there Rock shook his head and tried to fight back, but he only succeeded in slowing himself down. Soon he had reached the table, and his right hand stretched out for the small metal tool. He tried to hold it back with his left, but of course failed.

Wily grinned at the navy blue robot as he struggled against himself and failed. It seems everything was working out flawlessly. Now he could go on to the next stage in his plan…

Wily's megalomaniacal inner raving was cut off prematurely from a quiet cough to his right. The scientist turned to see his first robot standing nearby.

"Eh, doc…" Proto asked nervously, "Is this really okay?"

"Of course it is, Proto Man. Soon his personality will realign itself and he won't mind anymore. He'll be quite the obedient little warrior."

Proto Man shrugged. "If you say so, doc."

Rock Man walked over to the two and glared, letting the wrench clatter to the nearby metal table with a resounding clank, looking for all the world like a sullen teenager.

"There." He gritted out.

"Excellent work, Rock Man." Wily praised. Rock winced at the words, but tried not to let it effect him too much.

"Now, I have one more job for you to do for now."

"What, get you a glass of water?" Rock Man asked sarcastically.

Wily chuckled softly.

"Oh, no. This next job I hope you shall find a bit more… exciting then the last one."

Rock gulped past the lump in his throat. He had a bad feeling about this…

"First, I want you to go back to Dr. Light's lab…"

Rock Man's eyes widened, and he mouthed the word 'no'.

"And bring your sister back to me…"

Rock shook his head, and whispered "No."

"And if Dr. Light tries to stop you… incapacitate him."

"No, no, no!" Rock protested, clutching at his head as a pain started racing through it. He couldn't… he wouldn't! He refused to hurt his father or Roll! But he was already inching towards Wily's small collection of aircrafts…

"Better hurry, Rock Man." Wily added, laughing softly to himself.

Proto Man stared at the two silently. He felt like he should mention to Wily that he probably should wait until Rock's personality had fully converted, or at least send Proto Man or one of the other robot with him, but he decided against it. Dr. Wily was probably confident his plan would succeed as is, and wouldn't appreciate him pointing out any potential flaws. At least, that was the rationalization Proto Man gave himself for staying silent.

The red robot watched his little brother struggle into one of the hovercraft and leave the building.

"Well, how do you like your new partner, Proto?" Wily asked his creation with a cackle, turning and walking away towards the main part of the Skull Fortress.

Proto Man gazed at the floor in thought. He had wanted his brother on his side, but…

But not like this.

_Don't call me your brother, because you're not. If you really were my brother, you wouldn't have betrayed me._

Proto Man let out a sigh and leaned against the side of the building. He had just wanted his brother to be on the same side as him! Why couldn't Rock see that?

But after Wily's reprogramming took over… would he still be his brother? Proto Man had only known his little brother personally for a short while, but he knew him enough to gain a bond with him. A very tenuous bond, but a bond none the less.

Would he be fighting alongside that same robot, or just a bunch of circuits and wiring?

* * *

"Dr. Light, we have to do something!" Roll reiterated for what had to be the thirty-seventh time that night. The aging scientist had lost count.

Dr. Light leaned back in his chair and massaged the bridge of his nose. He was just as concerned about Rock as Roll was, but he had a bit less… idealistic view of the situation. He glanced wearily out of the window and saw the sky starting to lighten a bit. So the two had been up all night, then…

"What would you propose I do, Roll?"

"I-I don't know… make a robot to rescue him or something like that! I don't care! But…" The girl robot glanced at the floor and bit her lip.

"He sacrificed himself to save me, Dr. Light. He got hurt to give me the chance to escape, and that red creep kept him from leaving with me. I can't just let Wily reprogram my brother!"

"Roll, you know there's nothing we can do. If I could make anything in time that we could rescue Rock with I would have started as soon as Wily and his robots had left. But there's nothing I could do that wouldn't be obsolete by the time we got to Rock."

The girl let out a sigh and sat on the metal floor

"I know, Dr. Light, but… but can't we at least get a lock on his energy signature? You can do that, can't you? Maybe he was able to escape after all, but fell unconscious on the way here!"

Dr. Light nodded.

"Very well. But Roll, you shouldn't get your hopes up." The scientist cautioned as he pulled up a map of the nearby area and started rapidly typing away at a keyboard. A few seconds later a faintly glowing green dot appeared on the map, inching slowly downwards.

"Wait." Dr. Light frowned, zooming in on the map. "That's not right."

"What is it, Dr. Light?" Roll asked concernedly, leaping to her feet and walking up to gaze over Dr. Light's shoulder.

"According to this," here the scientist pointed at the moving dot, "Rock is close to the lab, and is still operational, or at least he's moving towards the area."

"That's wonderful!" Roll cheered. "I guess he's made of sterner stuff than we thought, right Dr. Light?"

"But according to what you told me, he shouldn't have been able to get this far with the energy he had left. Even if he had, at the rate he's going he should have reached here only a few minutes after you returned." Dr. Light zoomed in a bit closer and bit his lip once more.

"He's almost here. I don't like this… I don't like this at all…"

"Oh, don't be such a worry-wart, Dr. Light. Rock will be fine. He has to be!"

"I hope you're right, Roll… for he's arrived."

The two walked down the hall to the place where Roll and Rock had first been kidnapped. A second of Wily's air vehicles was parked next to the one Roll had taken.

"There you go, Dr. Light! That's how he was able to get this far without passing out!"

"That doesn't explain why he took so long to leave, though…" Light murmured.

The door to the right-most aircraft swung open, the bright light from inside casting its occupant into darkness.

"Rock! I'm so glad you're all right!" Roll called out joyously, attempting to run forwards to the motionless figure. Before she could take a step, however, Dr. Light's hand shot out a grabbed her shoulder, holding her back.

"Dr. Light!" Roll complained.

"Dr. Light." A quiet voice came from the still unmoving figure. "Thank you for doing that."

The scientist's eyes widened. There was no doubt as to whom that voice belonged to.

"Rock…" Dr. Light breathed.

"No." The robot said sadly. "Not Rock."

The door of the aircraft slid closed behind the robot, leaving him completely visible.

Dr. Light and Roll gaped at the figure. He was wearing a gray jumpsuit, with navy blue armor mimicking Proto Man's, and a simple navy, shadeless helmet. This couldn't be Rock… but the sad face told them differently.

"It's Rock Man now."

"Rock… what happened?" Roll asked softly.

"Please, you two, you have to run away quickly!" Rock said swiftly, ignoring his sister's inquiry. "Dr. Wily's reprogrammed me, and he ordered me to take Roll to him and get rid of Dr. Light if he tried to stop me! I don't know how long I can keep… rragh!" Rock Man let out a yell and doubled over, clawing at his head.

"Rock!" Dr. Light and Roll called out in unison.

"You two… you have to stop me… if you don't… I'll be gone forever, and… uagh!" Rock Man let out a scream of pain, then his hands fell slack to his sides. He stood there, slumped over for several tense moments.

Then slowly, he raised his head and look at the two with glazed-over, half-lidded eyes.

"Must… take Roll… to Wily…" he stated woodenly.

"Run, Dr. Light!" Roll cried, snapping into action and pushing the scientist back before running into the building herself. Rock Man quickly ran after her, eyes still foggy.

The female robot swerved down the opposite corridor from Dr. Light, and to her relief her brother followed her.

_I'm the one he's after, so Dr. Light should be safe… but what can I do now?_ Roll glanced behind her and noticed Rock Man was swiftly gaining. She quickly turned back and gave a little extra dash of speed.

_I'm nearly at my limit of how fast I can go… I need to think of some way to keep Rock from taking me! If I just had some sort of distraction, I could knock him out so Dr. Light could fix him, but how would I be able to do that when he's inches away from catching me?_

The answer soon provided itself in the form of a hammer thrown at the back of Rock Man's head. The robot stood still for a second, then his head slowly swiveled around to see his creator standing there with a determined expression on his face.

"You stay away from her!" Dr. Light demanded.

_Great job, Dr. Light!_ Roll cheered inwardly. The next second she realized she had to get moving, as now Rock Man was deliberately advancing towards Dr. Light.

_Forgive me, Rock!_ Roll apologized mentally as she formed a metal skillet on her hand and hit Rock Man over the head with it. He instantly fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Whew. Good work, Roll."

"Thanks, Dr. Light. Do… do you think you can fix him."

"It might take a few hours, but… yes, I should be able to turn him back to his normal self."

* * *

Rock felt a slight tingle through his body as he felt his servos start going again and slowly regained control of his limbs. What was… Dr. Light!

The robot's optics snapped open as he leapt out of his seat, only to fall back to the lab table a second later, clutching at his still armored head in pain. He remembered trying to attack his creator, then… it was blank. Why was he still wearing armor? Had… had Dr. Wily won? Had he kidnapped his sister and then Wily made some more adjustments or something?

"Rock!" A pair of voices called out in concern. Rock's eyes shot open as he turned to gaze at the two in surprise… and relief.

"Roll! Dr. Light! You're both okay! Thank goodness… but then, why am I still wearing armor?"

"Take it easy, Rock." Roll fretted, wrapping an arm around her older brother to help support him as he sat up.

"I'll be fine, sis." Rock protested, pushing the arm away… but only after he was fully able to support himself. "But what's going on, Dr. Light?"

The scientist looked at his creation sadly.

"After Roll knocked you out, I got to work on removing Wily's alterations. While I was able to remove all of the personality-altering programming, the weapon systems were irrevocably interconnected to your cybernetic brain."

"In English, that means Dr. Light is unable to remove the plasma cannon without putting your life in danger." Roll explained for her brother, who was looking a bit lost.

"I'm terribly sorry, Rock."

"No… no, this is fine." The boy said slowly, contemplating all that had happened since he had been activated. "Wily's planning on taking over the world, and is willing to go to any lengths to do so. He has a few robots under his control already, and is hoping to create a whole army of them. If they're to be stopped… we need a fighting robot on our side, to fight for peace. I'm more than willing to be that robot, so we can protect the world from Wily."

"But you won't have to do it alone!" Roll cheered. "I'll do some work on my arm so I can help fight against Wily too!"

"And I can create a support unit or two, and some different armor," Dr. Light added, "but Rock, are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure, dad." The blue robot smiled, then he looked down contemplatively.

"But… I want a different name. I'm not Rock anymore and I don't want to be called Rock Man."

"Hmm… How about Mega Man?" Dr. Light suggested. The blue bomber smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I like that name. Mega Man…"

* * *

Mega Man lay in his bed, but only for formality. He couldn't sleep, and he knew he wouldn't be able to that night. Too much had happened during the past 29 hours since his activation. And for the past few hours… he had had too much to think about.

After a few more minutes he stood up, walking over to a nearby wooden side table and staring down and the plain black object lying on it. Mega Man picked up the communicator Wily had given to him before he had left. The mad scientist must have noticed by now that Mega Man was no longer under his control. Mega Man was going to destroy the communicator earlier, but something had stopped him. He felt there was still something he had to do before he could get rid of it.

Mega Man sat back on his mattress with a sigh, black unit still clutched in his fingers. He knew what he had to do, but he was hesitant. What if he didn't understand? What if he tried to kill Mega Man?

The robot shook his head. No matter how the other responded, Mega Man knew he had to try. Any reasons not to were just excuses and he knew it.

Mega Man let out a shaky breath, then reactivated the comm unit and punched in the code for contacting Proto Man.

* * *

"So what is it?" Proto Man asked, folding his arms over his chest and gazing at his brother with a level expression. The kid had given him a call with the communicator Wily had given him and told him he wanted to meet him at this old, deserted wharf. Proto Man left, not bothering to tell Wily, assuming he might as well see what the Light-bot wanted to say… and if the kid wanted to fight, then all the better. The robot was wearing armor… but when Proto Man really looked at it, he saw it was different, now two shades of light blue and a different style helmet. So Dr. Light fitted him up with some new armor… maybe he really did come to fight him, after all.

"Why did you call me out here, Rock? Or should I say Rock Man?"

The blue robot frowned lightly. "Actually, it's Mega Man now. And I… well, I was doing some thinking, and…" Mega Man looked away, a tortured look on his face.

Proto Man frowned slightly and leaned back against one of the rotting buildings. "If you have something to say, I suggest you get it over with. I don't like the idea of hanging around someone who made it very clear he didn't want to see my face again any more than you want to be around me."

Mega Man turned back, eyes wide. "No, that's not it at all!" He cried, then took a deep breath.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking since Dr. Light fixed me and… I was wrong."

Proto Man blinked and stood up straighter. Of all the things he envisioned the younger robot telling him, he never imagined that.

"Excuse me?"

Mega Man let out a sigh and let his gaze drop to the floor, although he failed to hide the sadness that covered it.

"I was wrong in what I said earlier. About us not being brothers. I've realized that no matter what you do, you'll always be my brother… and I'm okay with that. I… I know nothing can change the fact that we're brothers, and that makes me happy. Because… I want to be your brother, Proto Man." Mega Man raised his head hesitantly to look at Proto Man during the last sentence, glancing at him with innocent blue eyes.

Proto Man, on the other hand, had his jaw hanging open ever-so-slightly. His brother's ineloquent little speech… well, it was much more than Proto Man had hoped for.

At Proto Man's lack of a response, Mega Man felt even more foolish. But he had to tell Proto Man this, even if he didn't appreciate it… even though it was most likely he was only humoring him enough to continue listening until he was done and then forget it the next second.

"Once you told me you were my brother, a lot of things ran through my head. I couldn't comprehend why, if you really were my brother, you would betray me like that. I barely even knew what a brother was at that point. But I knew I wanted one… no, not that. I didn't just want a brother; I wanted you for a brother. Except for… well, except for the fact that you're evil, from what I gathered about you, I liked you. You seemed like a great person, and… I was hurt when you refused to help me. But I won't let that affect me anymore. Because, no matter what happens, no matter if we're always forced to fight each other, you'll always be my brother."

With that, Mega Man took a few quick steps forward and pulled his older brother into a hug.

Proto Man's mind started racing even more than before. Mega Man felt the same way he did? Mega Man… didn't just accept the fact they were brothers, it actually meant something to him? He wanted to be brothers with Proto Man? The red robot closed his eyes and shook his head. The way things were right now, they'd never have a close brother relationship like they both wanted, but… but for some reason he couldn't help but slowly wrap his arms around his brother and hug him back.

Mega Man glanced up at his brother's shaded face, eyes shining with happiness.

"I'm really glad you're not angry at me."

"Like you said, we're brothers. I'm not gonna stay angry at my brother." Proto Man smirked slightly and let go of his brother.

"I see you've got some new armor on. When a few hours passed Wily realized you weren't coming back, so I'm assuming Dr. Light reversed Wily's modifications?"

Mega Man frowned slightly.

"Mostly. He took care of the personality changes and the mind-controlling device, but we left the blaster hooked up. I can't let Wily take over, and I'll do all I can to stop him, even if… even if it means I have to fight you, Proto Man. Please… please, won't you leave Dr. Wily and help me fight him?"

Proto Man frowned in response, leaning backwards against the wall once more.

"Sorry bro, but I'm not gonna give up that easily. I like being bad, it's in my nature."

"You mean what Wily programmed into you," Mega Man argued, crossing his arms. "If you just went to Dr. Light, he could fix that, and you—"

"No, brother. This is who I am, and I'm not going to let him mess around with me. It would be just the same as what Wily did. I'm me, and you're you. I'm going to do what I want to, no matter what you, Wily, or anyone else says. And if that means we'll have to cross blades, then so be it."

Here Proto Man gave his brother a wry half-smile.

"But hey, not to worry, bro. I won't let Wily or any of his bots destroy you. I won't let anyone but me kill my little brother."

The red robot caught the distraught look on Mega Man's face as he backed up slightly.

"But I won't let it get to that. I promise one day I'll convince you to join my side. But fairly, no reprogramming or anything. I want my little brother on my side, not just his shell."

Mega Man relaxed, and even let out a slight chuckle.

"Same here, Proto Man. I won't give up until you see the light and leave Wily forever."

"Even though we'll be fighting against each other for a while, I'll look forwards to the day when we're on the same side."

"Yeah, me too."

The two robot stood and stared at each other for a second, neither quite sure what to do. Both wanted to stay for a little while longer, conscious of the fact this would probably be the last time for a long while that they would get to meet peaceably.

Finally Proto Man sat down on the wharf, letting his feet dangle over the edge and hover inches above the water. He turned to his slightly confused brother and gave a half-smile, patting the wood next to him.

Mega Man smiled slightly and shook his head.

"You do realize that starting tomorrow we're gonna be enemies, right?" Despite his words, Mega Man consented to sitting down next to his brother, even leaning against him slightly. Proto Man smiled once more and gazed at the reflected stars.

"Yeah. But tonight… we're just brothers."

* * *

Ending note: Aww, brotherly fluff is just the greatest, isn't it? Oh yeah, this doesn't change the rest of the series, it's all in-universe except for Wily reprogramming Rock. Also, in case anyone was wondering, I wrote the first half of this a year ago, although I did do some revisions recently. So, I hope you liked, and reveiws make me very very happy, in case you were wondering. -whistles the Proto Man theme innocently-


End file.
